Hermit Molting

[KidJ57]

I haven't been here a long time, but in those 5 months, I have seen a lot of people asking about crab parts and molting inverts in their tank. While it is often explained that molt can look a lot like the invert in question, we have yet to really see any pictures of how life like the molt can appear :grumble:...So, as a service to any future invert owners with molt questions, below is a leg molt from my hermit that I removed from the tank tonight.

Besides my molt example I also wanted to show how big my crab was getting :shock:...As you can see, just one leg is 4 quarters long (just short of 4 inches :shock: ) Also, just for comparison are two pictures below of when he first took this shell and his current size :mrgreen:

It's crazy how before he was just barely sticking out of his shell and now he can almost cover up the whole thing :bounce:

 

[yote]

Those are some great shots Kid.
And that crab is HUGE.

 

[AdeptMrSniffles]

Kid is breeding MONSTERS!

 

[KidJ57]

The thing that bugs me is that the LFS I bought it from didn't tell me the 1st thing about this guy when I bought him; ya its my responsibility to look up livestock before I buy it, but when you buy EVERYTHING from the store including 3 damsels that they told you to cycle your tank with :frustrat:, you would hope that they would tell you when you come looking for hermit crabs that the one you think "looks cool" might eventually want to eat the fish you just bought three weeks prior :squint: :pissed:. I remember even asking the guy, "Would it be better to buy 10 of these little guys or could I go with this big guy? What's the draw backs of going either way?" ...his response, "Mostly, it's just looks, but also the little guys will get into tighter spaces where as the big guy will keep your sand spotless [which he has]...you could always just get a couple of snails [which he ate :frustrat:] to get into those smaller spaces."

Even when I finally figured out what actual species of crab it was, White Spotted Hermit White-spotted Hermit Crab (Dardanus megistos) (the LFS had it labled as a Fuzzy Hermit) I went back to the store and let them know what I found out and they didn't care :pissed:...Hence why I don't buy livestock from them anymore, I go to another LFS for livestock (when and if I get money again :sad: ) Actually, one last little tid bit, the guy at the LFS told me that the crab wouldn't get much bigger than purchase size, besides that he has doubled in size, I've read that they can grow to be 8" big, but I don't know where they get that #, is that from longest leg to longest leg, front to back, what? I know for lobsters, when we go diving (YAY! LOBSTER SEASON IS BACK! :bounce: ) we measure by weight and also minimum length from the thorax to the eyes :12:

Anyway, I've ranted long enough...hope you enjoyed the photos :mrgreen:

 

[dcantucson]

Kid tell us how you really feel.... :mrgreen:

Seriously that is one big ass crab! :lol:

 

[Smitty]

Let's name your crab axel-rod or barry, cause he is "juiced up"...:mrgreen:

 

[Bifferwine]

big ass crab! :lol:

Hehehe.

 

[KidJ57]

Let's name your crab axel-rod or barry, cause he is "juiced up"...:mrgreen:

It's sad, I used to be Bonds fan when he was on the Pirates because I was known for homeruns and stealing bases in my little league....now I just want to take a needle to that balloon he calls a head and see if it pops :shock: :mrgreen:

In order to further insult Mr. Bonds, I will gladly refer to my crab as Barry...or Hermie Bonds :12: ...:dunno:...either way :lol:

 

[coffeebean]

How about an update on Barry? Did he get any bigger?

 

[KidJ57]

Oh, most definitely, he just molted again about 2 weeks ago, but there weren't any good salvageable pieces. He must've been hungry because he ate a bunch of it. I'm actually planning on buying him a new shell soon and taking photos (possibly even setting up a web cam) of the selection process/change over. Before I do that though, the tank needs some sprucing up, in fact, I've even been shopping for a bigger tank. Biggest hold up is money though, as soon as I'm ready to buy, some unexpected expense pops up and trumps the tank :sad: . At the very latest, everything should be ready to go by July. :bounce:

 

[BL1]

Not to hijack your thread but, I found this guys molt in my tank today, I thought he had actually died until I saw him peek out from a rock

 

[KidJ57]

It's not hijacking...very cool photo

 

[coffeebean]

There's a face only a Mother could love!:yikesu: